Dir sericulture lays foundation stone for Chawki rearing centre

Shopian, Aug 0 6: Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, IAS, Director Sericulture J&K today laid the foundation stone for the construction of a Silkworm Chawki Rearing Centre (CRC) under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP) at Sofanaman in District Shopian.As per a statement issued here, the event witnessed large participation of silkworm rearers and farmers from different areas of the district who gathered in high spirits to welcome this developmental project aimed at uplifting their livelihoods and ensuring sustainable income generation.Speaking on the occasion, Bhat highlighted that 100 Chawki Rearing Centres (CRCs) are to be established across various Districts of Jammu & Kashmir under the HADP scheme. These CRCs are envisioned as technical service centers that will facilitate scientific chawki rearing of silkworm seed. He emphasised that the chawki-reared silkworms produced at these centers will be distributed among silkworm rearers, significantly contributing to the enhancement of cocoon quality and yield thereby boosting economic returns for the farming community quite considerably.Bhat urged the farmers to adopt modern technologies and scientific methods in silkworm rearing, avail the benefits of the departmental schemes and to acquire technical support through field functionaries of the Sericulture Dev. Department J&K. He further encouraged young entrepreneurs and unemployed youth to explore sericulture as a viable source of income.